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Joy Division

Postpunk pioneers Joy Division left an indelible mark on Manchester’s burgeoning music scene in the late 1970s. Where punks, armed with anger and adrenaline, reconfigured rock by employing its most primal qualities, the postpunks dealt in dissonance, inverted sonic balances, and introspective lyrics. Producing a legacy perhaps larger than their own output, Joy Division lasted little more than three years and recorded only two studio albums, but the poignancy and sheer originality of their music have ensured their essential status in rock’s pantheon.

Formed in 1976, Joy Division was largely a product of an artistic groundswell generated by the Sex Pistols’ appearance at the local Lesser Free Trade Hall, an event that also played a hand in the birth of Buzzcocks and other Manchester bands. Drawing on punk’s primitive palette, Ian Curtis (vocals), Bernard Sumner (sometimes credited as Albrecht) (guitar), Peter Hook (bass), and Stephen Morris (drums) joined forces and were briefly known as Warsaw (after “Warszawa,” a track from David Bowie’s album Low). Their early shows were erratic affairs, punctuating tedious guitar rock with periodic bursts of inspiration, but it soon became clear that they were a young band with something to say, and the passion and ingenuity to say it differently.

Having self-released An Ideal For Living, a four-track EP notable more for ideas than execution, Joy Division came into their own with the help of producer Martin Hannett and Factory Records owner Tony Wilson. In late 1978, a Factory sampler offered two Joy Division tracks, “Digital” and “Glass,” which marked the emergence of the band’s ultimate aesthetic: dominant rhythm section; cold, piercing guitars; and dark lyrical terrain. An impressed Tony Wilson gambled Factory profits and his life savings on the recording of Joy Division’s debut album. With Martin Hannett again at the helm, the band crafted a stark musical statement that would endure as a milestone. 1979’s Unknown Pleasures charted a confident course through grim personal realities and steely, often disjointed soundscapes. While the critics were virtually unanimous in their praise, the band remained elusive and skeptical of the hype machinery.

Work on the follow-up album, Closer, coincided with increasing troubles for Ian Curtis. His performances were marked by a frantic “dance,” but his manic motions were only partly voluntary. Curtis suffered from epilepsy, and his seizures were getting worse, requiring hospitalization and depressive medication; in extreme cases he would have to be carried offstage. His emotional world was frazzled as well. His marriage was falling apart, his wife was pregnant, and he’d fallen in love with a woman he’d met on tour. As much as he poured his demons into Closer, he also seemed to immerse himself in the record, folding its bleak sentiments and icy textures back into his delicate state.

While not visibly depressed to those who knew him, Curtis was reaching the limits of his chemically abetted despair. In May of 1980, shortly before Joy Division were to embark on their first American tour, Curtis hung himself in his home. Closer was subsequently released to critical acclaim and immediate commercial success. The latest single, “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” was also a hit, going on to become one of the group’s signature songs.

While devastated at the loss of their friend and colleague, the remaining members of Joy Division never questioned that they would carry on. Honoring a pact they had made that they would change the name should any member leave, they resumed under the name New Order, designating guitarist Bernard Sumner as lead singer and adding Morris’ girlfriend Gillian Gilbert on keyboards and guitar. With a revolution of their own to stage, New Order quickly stepped beyond the shadow of Joy Division to become key players in the evolution of electronic dance music.